


Sicilian Defense

by Historical_Pigeon



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017), Yellowstone (TV 2018)
Genre: Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:02:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28997178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Historical_Pigeon/pseuds/Historical_Pigeon
Summary: Frank and Karen head out to Montana when Kayce calls in an old favour.Chapter 1 is all about getting the pieces on the chessboard. Hopefully this week I'll be able to get an outline down for myself and Chapter 2 written. I'll update the summary once I have an idea where this is going.
Relationships: Beth Dutton/Rip Wheeler, Frank Castle/Karen Page, Monica Long/Kayce Dutton
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	Sicilian Defense

**Author's Note:**

> Title is a working title. Has not been beta'd. Any spelling and grammar mistakes are purely my own. 
> 
> I have no idea where this came from, except the crazy idea that Frank would absolutely DESTROY everyone from Market Equity involved in the attacks. 
> 
> Beth is alive in this one, even though we don't have confirmation that she is in canon. 
> 
> Yes, I know Frank was a Marine and Kayce was a SEAL, but I checked and they do on occasion work together. I figure one of those times would be plenty of opportunity for Kayce to save Frank's ass and incur a debt of honour.

**LOADED FOR BEAR  
to be loaded for bear(s), to be well prepared for an anticipated confrontation, opponent, emergency, etc.; to be ready for anything**

* * *

Kayce watched his sister as she lay in her hospital bed. Her breathing keeping time with the rhythmic whoosh of the ventilator. Her face was once again a patchwork of cuts and bruises, only this time it covered the rest of her too. She was alive, but only just. Nausea threatened him. He’d seen plenty of death since that night in ’97, but seeing his sister clinging to life like their mother had, threatened to tear a hole in him.

Rip, who hadn’t moved from his spot beside her since he got there, was currently sleeping. One large hand resting gently on Beth’s arm. For so long Kayce had thought of Rip as nothing more than his father’s pet. Always doing as he was told, taking care of the less savoury aspects of running and keeping the Yellowstone. Now he looked at him with different eyes. Rip had been the one to save Beth last time her office had been attacked and Kayce knew it killed him that he hadn’t been there to protect her this time. Most people would think of Rip as cold and unfeeling, but Kayce knew better now. He’d seen how it took Lloyd, Ryan, and Colby to keep Rip in check when they got to the hospital, primal rage making him want to lash out at anyone and everything. Promises that he could stay with Beth were what finally calmed him down enough to listen to reason. That had been three days ago and Kayce was sure he hadn’t moved since.

“Kayce.”

He turned at the sound of his father’s gravelly voice. John stood there, looking older than he ever had. A harried nurse was beside him trying to insist that he go back to his room. John shrugged her off. “I need to talk to my son.”

The nurse gave Kayce a dirty look, like this was all his fault, or maybe she was cursing Dutton’s in general, before acquiescing. “You’ve got five minutes and then I want you back in your room, John.”

John grunted.

“I’m serious, John. Five minutes or we sedate you again,” she ground out, then turned and went back to the nurses’ station.

John waited until she was out of earshot. “You know what this means, son?” he asked.

Kayce nodded. “Coordinated attacks on all three of us. No word about Jamie, but I’m guessing he’s fine.” He glanced at Beth and Rip. “They’re done playing nice, but they made mistakes.”

John waited patiently for him to continue.

Kayce sighed and ran a hand down his face. “They were counting on you dying for sure, and hopefully me,” he looked at Beth again. “Beth was personal. Or else they would have waited until she was driving home to ambush her like they did us.”

John nodded. For all that he knew how to get and keep power, had been currying it for years now, this was Kayce’s arena. Kayce knew how modern warfare looked, had spent long years with the Navy doing the only thing he thought he was good at.

“This feels like a war now. Kill off anyone who disagrees, and then just take the land.” John’s unsaid admonishment of Jamie hung in the air. Blood or not, Jamie was his son, and once again he’d betrayed his family.

Kayce saw the nurse motioning to wrap it up from her desk and leaned close to his father. “They want a war? They’ll get one.” He turned and laid a hand on John’s shoulder. “Go to bed before you give the nurses a damn heart attack. I’ve got a favour to call in,” he said as he squeezed John’s shoulder, then turned and strode down the hall.

John watched his youngest go before turning to look at Beth and Rip. It broke his heart to see his daughter like this. Out of all his children, Beth was his fighter. Lee had been a cowboy, through and through. Jamie was, well, Jamie. And Kayce, for all his killing skills, lacked the ruthlessness needed to survive life outside the military. But Beth, god she was the person you wanted to have in your corner. Fiercely loyal and ready to go for the jugular at the drop of a hat. She’d always been that way, even before her mother’s death. But here she was, bruised and bleeding again, on the verge of dying because of a promise he just couldn’t break. He sniffed and sent a silent prayer heavenward that Market Equities hadn’t thought to go after Rip. Hadn’t seen him as enough of a threat to warrant attention. As he turned to head back to his room, IV pole clutched in one hand, John relished the thought of Rip educating them on how stupid a decision _that_ had been. He might almost feel sorry for the bastards. Almost.

Kayce sat in his truck, phone in hand. He’d always thought this day would never come. That he’d get to lay on his deathbed and know that he hadn’t needed to use it. That his life had been simple and peaceful enough not to warrant bringing Frank into it. He sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face. He knew what Frank had become. Had watched the news coming out of New York with a morbid sense of pride and delight. Castle had always been good at what he did, but now? He was a one-man army.

Reminding himself that Market Equities had brought this on themselves, he flipped open his phone and dialled the number for Curtis Hoyle.

“Hey, Curtis, it’s Kayce Dutton.”

“Dutton, didn’t think I’d be hearing from you once you left the service.”

“I’m trying to get in touch with Castle. You still got his number?”

Silence made him think his phone had dropped the call. “Curtis? You still there?”

“I’m here, Dutton,” Curtis sighed. “What do you want with Frank anyway?”

“Well, that’s kind of personal.” He shifted in his seat. Curtis had been nice enough, but he wasn’t about to spill the family secrets to him. “Do you have Frank’s number or not?”

In New York Curtis held the phone to his chest and looked heavenward. God, all he wanted for Frank was a quiet life. Was that too fucking much to ask for? Gritting his teeth, he picked the phone up again. “You got a pen?”

Karen watched as Frank meticulously packed his weapons into three bags. She couldn’t remember the last time he’d taken _three_ bags on a job. She’d been working on her target practice when Frank’s phone had rung, the sound shrill in their abandoned warehouse. Knowing better, she’d finished the drill and cleared and secured her weapon before turning to watch Frank. He’d answered in his usual gruff way, hung up, and then told Micro to watch for some incoming coordinates.

“Montana? What the hell is in Montana, Frank?” David’s voice cut through her reverie.

Frank grunted as he loaded the first bad into the back seat of the pick-up. “Friend called in a favour.” He shrugged. “He needs help, so I’m helping.”

David glanced at Karen, his expression dubious. “Do we know what kind of help he needs?”

“Look, all Kayce said was to come loaded for bear.” He placed a second bag in the truck. “So that’s what I’m doing. I’ll figure out the rest when I get there.”

Karen exchanged a look with Micro. No way was she letting Frank go halfway across the country on his own. With a determined nod of her head, she grabbed her go-bag from under one of David’s desks, and her purse from where she’d left it.

“Say hi to Sarah and the kids for me,” she said as she passed David.

She could feel Frank’s eyes on her as she loaded her bag into the truck and climbed in the front seat. He should have known better by now than to think she was going to let him go off on his own.

“You wanna tell me what you’re doing, sweetheart?” Frank rested his crossed arms on the windowsill.

“You’ll make better time with someone helping with the driving. Five seven-hour shifts, including time for gas and grabbing food, means we can be there early Sunday morning.” Karen looked at him expectantly. “You can either make it there in a timely manner with me, or you can show up late, overtired, and potentially compromised without me. Your choice, Frank.”

Ignoring David’s laughter, Frank gave her a sarcastic salute and walked around to the driver’s side.

It was just after four in the morning when Frank turned his truck up the long and winding driveway of the Yellowstone Ranch. White outbuildings were visible in the dawning light to his left.

Finally, the main house appeared through the morning mist before them and Karen’s breath caught in her throat. The two-storey log cabin in front of her was like something out of a dream or a movie.

“What did you say they did again?” she asked as she pressed her nose against the window to get a better look.

“Cattle ranchers,” Frank said as he killed the engine. “You wait here,” he added as he got out of the truck and headed towards the front door.

Karen was digging through her purse, looking for a breath mint and maybe a hairbrush if she was lucky, when she heard the familiar sounds of a scuffle. Looking up she saw Frank and a very large, very angry-looking man in the middle of what was now a full-blown fist fight.

“Shit.” Forgetting the mint and brush, Karen grabbed her .380 and gave the chamber a spin to make sure it was loaded. Slipping from the truck, she carefully made her way to where Frank and his attacker were now rolling on the ground.

She knew better than to try and take a shot while they were so close together. She was just as likely to hit Frank as she was the other guy. Finally, the assailant pinned Frank beneath him and cocked back a fist to start pummeling him.

The sound of her hammer cocking was enough to stop him. “Stand up slowly and keep your hands where I can see them.” When he hesitated, she added steel to her voice, “Now, god damn it.”

The large man slowly rose to his full height, hands carefully where she could see them. Frank rolled to his hands and knees, spat blood, and then stood.

“Hell of an entrance, Castle,” came a voice from behind her.

The three of them turned to see Kayce standing on the porch, a sardonic smile on his face.


End file.
